Lehman snaps up CSFB barrier options team

US investment bank Lehman Brothers has lured a 15-person equity barrier options team from rival Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) as part of its bid to boost its equity derivatives operations.

Lehman has been slowly building its capabilities in equity derivatives during the past two years, but the new move is the largest single effort to date.

A Lehman spokesperson was keen to stress that the team had been brought in to expand Lehman's product structuring and tailoring capaibily to clients, rather than as an attempt to steal a team believed to produce strong revenues.

The barrier options team will be headed by Jerry Guthrie, a former Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) employee. US investment house DLJ was bought by CSFB in August 2000.

Guthrie will report to Divid Bizer, managing director of equity derivatives sales, and Siggi Thorkelsson, managing director and head of structured volatility trading.

Traders, marketers, structurers and back-office personnel make up the rest of the barrier options team. In simple terms, a barrier option is a path-dependent option that is activated or terminated if a specific spot rate reaches a specified trigger level. Barrier options typically offer higher margins than vanilla options.